A rural taskforce has received "landmark funding" aimed at maintaining momentum and continuing to "hit criminals hard".
Northumbria Police's dedicated rural policing team was formed in June 2020 and tasked with preventing and tackling rural acquisitive crime, wildlife and poaching offences. Since its formation, the team has gone on to recover more than £1m worth of stolen agricultural equipment, while efforts are said to have helped cut poaching offences by nearly 50% since 2020.
The force recently became the first in the country to be awarded Safer Streets funding specifically to fight rural crime and protect the North East's most isolated communities. The funding will be used to develop a range of rural crime operations which will make use of technology including thermal imaging and number plate recognition.
Read more: Wanted man snared after off-duty Northumberland police officer spots him waiting to board train
The team has now launched Northumberland Partnership Against Rural Crime (NPARC) to bring regional partners’ respective expertise to the table. The force’s rural policing team and Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness have been joined by Northumberland County Council, Northumberland National Park, Mountain Rescue, Forestry England and Northumberland Fire & Rescue Service who were all signatories to the bid.
Inspector Garry Neill of Northumbria Police said: "Protecting our most remote communities is a priority for us and through NPARC we believe we can make a significant impact in our ongoing fight against rural crime. We are passionate about tackling and preventing rural crime, and through NPARC, we have big plans in the pipeline to hopefully continue the excellent progress made over the last couple of years.
"That will include new technology to improve evidence gathering in order to identify those offenders looking to prey on our rural communities, as well as share intelligence more effectively with all our countryside colleagues to tighten the net around suspects. We run continue to run dedicated operations throughout the year such as Operation Checkpoint, and this funding will allow us to introduce innovative new tactics to continue to make a positive difference.
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness is set to join officers and partners at an NPARC strategic meeting later this month. She said: "I want to make sure our rural communities never feel overlooked and know that we are coming together to make sure we are doing as much as we can to fight and prevent crime in the more remote parts of our region.
"There have been some great results from the rural policing team in recent months and it’s a perfect time to build on that success and explore new ways we can work together and that’s what the new NPARC project is setting out to do."
Read next
Four arrests as police shut down Sunderland cannabis farm and seize £50,000 worth of illegal drugs
- Drunk driver 'lucky he didn't kill someone' after reaching 86mph on Chillingham Road
- Newcastle child rapist back behind bars for 'graphic' sex chats with '14-year-old'
- Plane passenger caught smuggling 91,000 cigarettes through Newcastle Airport
- Pupil caught with bread knife at North Tyneside primary school is excluded
